Ebola

Currently, one of the most prevalent topics in the media is the Ebola virus. In the spirit of never wanting to waste a good crisis, several political groups are grappling for maximum leverage over the contagion.  Various pundits and politicians have played the Ebola card to make the federal politicians look incompetent and paralyzed, and state politicians look paranoid and reactionary.  It’s been used to make state politicians look proactive and forward-thinking, and make the federal politicians look noble and level-headed.  It’s been employed both to shame and to praise foreign governments. Most politicians have applied this leverage to contrast their platform with their opponents’, in light of the upcoming election.

I don’t think it’s purely coincidence that this crisis has found prominence as we approach All Hallows’ Eve.  Just as many seek a thrill with a haunted house or horror flick, I think most people seek a thrill of fear renewed.

I theorize that the reason people watch horror movies is because it is a safe way to feel fear.   Feeling fear that you know to be irrational is satisfying.  The process of feeling like you’re in danger, and then being safe, triggers the risk/reward processors in your brain.  Why do I call it a “safe” fear? Deep down, you know the chances of being murdered by inbred hillbillies in the desert is quite low, compared to, say, the chances of dying from cancer.  Yet, we become empathetic with the characters, feel their fear, and allow it to overtake us, whether it be of Hannibal Lector or Dracula.  Watching a horror movie is a kind of masturbation, and in this metaphor horror movies would be porn.  You work your way up with anticipation and anxiety, and then experience the orgasmic euphoria of ending the movie and understanding you have nothing to fear.  Also like porn, you have no control over the actions of the characters, so it is safe to simply observe.  Action is not an option, which helps make it such a pleasant experience (for some) to watch a horror movie.  So in all, we learn to crave the fear, as we know it will be followed by an increased sense of security.

The recent Ebola news is much the same as a horror story.  I suspect people are enraptured by it because they get to observe a struggle that they have no control over, and, at the end of the day, they can forget.  They are temporarily distracted from the inescapable, personal fears in their life: the fear of confrontation, the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, etc.  By claiming that Ebola is the real threat to their safety, they are able to couch the other, more tangible, more looming threats in their life, and take comfort in the “safe” fear.  And, in accordance with this simile, the general populace has almost no control over the spread of the contagion, beyond regular hand-washing.

I recommend we focus on the more prominent threats to our happiness, such as family trauma, social ostracism, and economic hardship.  These threats, however, you will not see represented in the mass media.  The alternative is far too lucrative.